Mammoth Trolley Riders Up

After one summer of town-owned buses on the streets of Mammoth Lakes, officials say that rider numbers are astounding. After the trial trolley runs in 2005 clocked close to 16,000 people for the month of July that summer, the Town Council decided to go ahead and buy the buses for the current fleet.

Town officials now report that between June and September this year, the first year of operations for the town-bought buses, 98,000 riders have hopped aboard. This is close to 30,000 more riders than last year.

Town Officials say that the lion’s share of the riders are on the Trolley, which notched up 60,200 riders for the period between June and September.

The Lift is reportedly up 10% and the Dial-a-Ride service is listed as up 41%.

You don’t need to hold on to your transfer ticket or put change down a slot. If you live in town, or are visiting from nearby, a trolley ride doesn’t cost a dime. Mammoth voters passed a one percent bed tax raise to pay for the transportation service. If you are staying in a hotel however, you might as well ride the trolleys like crazy because you’re paying for them.

The past two years Town trolley service shut down for the winter months. Now that the trolleys are here to stay, they are scheduled to run during the evening hours this winter.